Featured Designing Mom: Lindsay Upson

by Cat on March 5, 2012

Photographer Lindsay Upson has taken on esteemed clients such as Milk & Honey and Bar Bocce. But a look into her portraits of families and children reveal her talent in capturing the glow of her most tiniest and cherubic subjects…

When did you first become passionate about photography? Have you always loved taking pictures?

For as long as I can remember I have been taking pictures, but I became aware of my passion in college when I took a darkroom class. I have always been enamored with the idea of capturing an instance, freezing a moment and an emotion and then comparing it to the tangible/visual result which is the actual photograph.

What prompted you to use children as your subject? Have you experimented with other subjects? Landscape? Architecture? Weddings?

Travel photography is the reason I began studying this art form and I still love to shoot travel and landscapes. A couple of years ago I started photographing my friends children as a favor and suddenly noticed how much I enjoyed it. I still shoot editorial a lot but have tried to build my family portrait business because I have so much fun doing it. I love trying to capture the kids personalities, each one is so creative and original and you never know what you’re going to get. Sometimes they love the camera, other times they refuse to look into your lens, so I guess I enjoy the challenge as well. I shoot weddings from time to time, but do not promote it. I’ll catch myself wanting to focus on the kids at the wedding, so I figure I should spend more energy developing that side of the business.

What is the biggest challenge you face as a photographer?

Definitely getting work. Sometimes jobs just find you, but most of the time you have to actively be putting yourself out there. There are so many talented artists, its a competitive field, and the progress in technology definitely doesn’t help us.

How would you classify your style? Photojournalistic? Traditional?

I err more on the photojournalistic side. I like to let people be themselves and capture their interactions and natural body language. I generally don’t pose people at all and I think that is how I am able to get some of the shots that my clients love. When you ask people to do something they wouldn’t normally do they tend to look awkward and awkward doesn’t photograph well. I also bring my love of the outdoors into the experience by only shooting on location. The kids love it and get to run around and it makes for more interesting, artistic images.

Do you have any advice for aspiring professional photographers?

Surround yourself with creative and inspiring people, when you’re an artist you need that constant source of stimulation.